While there are plenty of wild swimming spots around Manchester and Liverpool, there aren’t so many options if you want a safe, visitor-friendly outdoor swim. The kind with changing facilities, lifeguards, and, ideally, coffee and cake afterwards.
However, there are some very civilized open water swimming options in the city as well as some lovely old outdoor pools if you’re prepared to travel further afield.
From urban options to wild swimming with the wilderness taken out of the equation, lovely lidos and turquoise pools with history and period style, this Guide has it all.
Know of any more safe spots for outdoor swimming in Manchester? Tell us on on Twitter: @cnfguides
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Whitchurch
Alderford Lake
Alderford Lake is the perfect day out all year round. It’s an idyllic location but you won’t be able to sit still and enjoy the birdsong or take in the view; there’s far too much going on.
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Pickmere
The Farm Club
The Farm Club started life as a triathlon training centre before it expanded into offering a wider wellness experience. Situated on an actual farm (hence the name) in Pickmere village, near Knutsford, it offers outdoor exercise sessions, lake swimming, wellness sessions, yoga, and meditation. There’s also a cafe and a self-catering lodge.
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Hathersage
Hathersage Swimming Pool
Catch the Hope Valley line train from Piccadilly to this picturesque Peak District village for a dip in Hathersage Swimming Pool, a heated lido built in the 1930s.
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Waterfront
Liverpool Watersports Centre
Nothing shakes up the senses quite like a winter dip in the docks. Head to Mariners Wharf for all-year-round aquatic activities at Liverpool Watersports Centre including open water swimming, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking, sailing, powerboating, and giant swan pedalo-ing. Go in the warmer months and there’s an Aqua Park too – basically a big inflatable playground in the water.
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Frodsham
Manley Mere
This man-made lake used to be a field full of cows until the owners diversified their business model from dairy farming into water sports. Manley Mere is now home to an adventure trail, aqua park, cafe, and sailing centre. Sounds like they made the right decision.
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Sale
Openswim UK
If you want to go swimming at Sale Water Park, the safest way is with Openswim UK. They hold casual swimming sessions there four days a week in spring and summer, plus sessions throughout the winter. With regular water testing and lifeguards on standby, it’s a lot less risky than venturing in on your own.
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Leigh
Pennington Flash
Pennington Flash is Greater Manchester’s only National Nature Reserve. This wetland habitat, formed by flash flooding of former coal mining sites, is home to all sorts of wildlife. With a number of bird hides dotted around, you might even be lucky enough to spot a kingfisher or a willow tit.
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Princes Dock
Swim Liverpool
Swim Liverpool at Princes Dock is the Liverpudlian base of We Swim Run, the team behind various races, courses and events in the North West for, you guessed it, swimmers and runners.
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Media City
USwim Salford Quays
The idea of voluntarily getting into the oily, cone-strewn waters of Salford Quays would once have filled us with horror. But when Manchester hosted the 2002 Commonwealth Games and needed a swimming venue for the triathlon, this corner of it got a clean-up.
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Delamere
Wild Shore Delamere
If you’ve never known the joy of flying over a lake on a rope swing and daring yourself to let go, get it on your bucket list, and then get yourself over to Wild Shore Delamere to tick it off.